In Part I, I looked at the definition of surrogate advertising and relevant laws pertaining to it. In this Part, I explore the role of the judiciary and the question of trademark rights vis-à-vis surrogate advertisements. Role of the Judiciary In 1999, the Voluntary Health Association of India filed a PIL in the Delhi High Court to seek a ban on the sponsorship of the Indian cricket team by the Wills brand of cigarettes manufactured by ITC. According to the PIL, the…

Advertisements are made for one simple reason: to portray the product in question in a good light and make it appealing and irresistible for prospective customers. Where profit is the only motive, there is no place for cold hard facts or objective truths. Whether we believe that soup powders have “the goodness of real vegetables” or that a certain telecom brand can unilaterally solve our country’s problems, we can only point fingers at advertisements for our mistaken beliefs. Advertisements have…